Hoenn Region Destinies
by PurpleLuna98
Summary: A journey is the dream of most fourteen year old teenagers in the Hoenn region. Chiara Tort, Yolanda, and Herc Farrow are three of those teens. The three resolve to help each other get to the Pokémon League, and then make sure one of them makes it to the top—to the title of Hoenn Champion. What will become of these three teenagers on their way to chasing their ambitious dreams?
1. Chapter 1

_**Full Story Summary: A journey is the dream of most fourteen year old children in the Hoenn region. Chiara Tort, daughter of Robert and Fern Tort, has grown up around Pokémon her entire life thanks to the fact that both of her parents had previously been trainers. Yolanda, a mysterious girl who goes to great ends to hide her past, confronts Chiara in the beginning, asking to travel along with her. Julien, a brash and intelligent boy, joins the duo later as they're heading to a gym. The three resolve to help each other get to the Pokémon League, and then make sure one of them makes it to the top**__**—to the title of Hoenn Champion. After that, Chiara hopes to challenge the current Pok**__**émon Master, Red. What will become of these three teenagers on their way to chasing their ambitious dreams?**_  


_**Chapter Summary: Chiara Tort, a girl whom lives with her father in the Hoenn region and only knows slight details about her mother in the Sinnoh region, is ready to start her Pok**__**é**_mon journey. Getting a gift for her birthday from her mother, Chiara starts out on her long-awaited journey. 

_**Pokémon in the future, Ash & friends mentioned, journies start at a later age (will be explained), set in Hoenn region**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Also, anything else you might recognize in this story—even in later chapters—I don't own.**_

_**Warnings: slight **__**Pokémon-style cussing**_

_**Song of the Chapter: Here I am by Bryan Adams**_

* * *

Hoenn Region Destinies

Chapter One: The Start of a Journey

* * *

_Ten Years Prior to Current Day_

* * *

Chiara yawned, snuggling into the warm fur of her best friend. The Furret, in response, curled its long body around its master's tiny child, smiling a bit to itself when the young girl happily giggled and started playing with the ends of its tail.

Furret nuzzled its nose into the short black-streaked hair of the child, encouraging her to fall asleep. Chiara yawned again, snuggling into the warm coat of Furret and slowly fell asleep. Furret, at a later point in time, fell asleep with its head right next to hers, its master coming in and smiling fondly at the scene of his two favorite things in the world, sleeping together.

He looked up, noticing his wife staring blankly down at the two. "Honey, what's wrong?" He asked, noticing the look.

"I...my boss gave me a promotion today..." She said slowly, sadly. Fern looked up as her husband smiled widely.

"That's great news!" Robert exclaimed happily, but quietly, minding the sleeping beings in the next room.

"As C.E.O." With those two words uttered, the mood dropped into a depressing state. Fern ran a hand through her hair. "I'll be moving to Sinnoh within the week."

The spouses embraced, thinking only of how their daughter could possibly be raised properly with half of her parental figures gone from most of her life.

* * *

_October 21, 2023_

* * *

Chiara frowned slightly. Something was up, she could tell. She and her father, Robert, were sitting at their dinner table, eating the evening meal quietly. What was weird was that Chiara's father never went a minute without cracking a joke to make her laugh. Now, at the age of fourteen, Chiara could tell that something was wrong.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Chiara asked, a bit peeved from the way that her dad was barely touching any of the food she made.

"...You know how your mother has agreed with you about how you are to start your journey tomorrow, on your fourteenth birthday...?..." Robert started, albeit hesitantly.

"Yeah, how could I forget?" Chiara leaned back on the two back legs of her chair, rolling her eyes a little to tease her father a bit. She tried to ignore the feeling of mystery when her mother was mentioned. She immediately felt bad when her father just sadly stared at her. She ceased her leaning, sensing the sour mood.

"Well, I just want to say... I'm sorry for not telling you, but...your mother wanted you to have a Pokémon before you go..."

Chiara blinked as her father stood up, and came back with a standard, red pokéball and a belt that could hold six pokéballs in their compacted state.

"Try it out. Just press the button, and throw it in the air," Robert commanded softly, giving his daughter the compact pokéball and the belt.

Chiara took the belt and slid it over her skinny jeans' hips, noticing that one side slipped more down to the ground while the other sat where it was supposed to, and not caring enough to fix it at that moment in time. She took the cool metal in ball form from her father, and pressed the button slowly, the pokéball growing to its full size.

She threw it gently in the air, and it opened with a whoosh. As it opened, a semi-bright light beam slitted from the opening of the red and white pokéball to the floor, slowly but surely making the shape of a Pokémon. The slender body was first, with four legs sticking out of the front part, more towards the head, while the tail started to take form in the air on the back. On its actual back, two diamond wings formed, and miniature versions formed on the edge of the tail. Finally, the head, which consisted of two long, prong-like things and two green eyes, completed the body of the newly-formed Pokémon.

Chiara stared in wonder as it happily buzzed its wings at being released after being contained for so long. She bent down and kneeled, and it studied her while she did so. Her father spoke up from where he had been standing.

"Its name is Vibrava, and its a pretty rare Pokémon. Though it looks like a bug type, which your mother knows your despise, it actually is a ground and dragon Pokémon. It evolved from Trapinch, but your mother actually caught it for you as it is now. She and I both hope you like it, sincerely."

Chiara smiled. She gently raised her hand, and stuck it out towards the Pokémon. It looked at her hand for a moment, before cautiously approaching. It tickled her hand with its antennae, and she giggled to herself. Unfortunatly, the Vibrava heard it and freaked out, jumping into the air and vibrating its wings at unimaginable speeds. Both humans put their hands to the ears in pain. However, while Robert had to deal with it, Chiara simply pulled her bEATS up over her straightened black-streaked hair, and the painful noise vanished from her earshot.

Slowly, she stood. Though she could not hear herself, she calmly started talking to the startled Pokémon, just like she had seen both her mother and her father do before. On the inside, though, she was freaking out.

The Vibrava slowly lowered itself to the ground, warily eying the human who seemed not to be affected by its shockwaves. She looked scary enough: a funny device over her ears, tight clothes, and deadly-looking shoes. However, her face was welcoming and betrayed the fact that she was a little scared of scaring it, which surprised the Vibrava. Still wary—but not as wary as it had been and obviously still on slight defense—, the Vibrava let Chiara approach it slowly.

Chiara wanted to breathe a sigh of relief when she touched the back of her hand to the floor in front of it, and Vibrava started inspecting her palms with its front antennae again. She didn't, however, because she was afraid of if the Pokémon would startle again. Suddenly, the Vibrava placed its slick head against her palm, nuzzling her affectionately. Deeply surprised, it took Chiara a minute to hold out her other hand—the universal question for "can I pick you up". The Vibrava scuttled into Chiara's arms, its wings brushing her bare arms and surprising her with how delicate and light they were.

"Vibrava!" The Pokémon spoke for the first time, looking up at its new master, still a bit wary as to whether she would be a good or a bad one. Said trainer smiled down at her new partner, determined to get Vibrava to trust her completely.

"Dad, with Vibrava by my side, I feel I could take on the Hoenn League right now!" Chiara said, smiling happily. "And it's all thanks to you and Mom for getting me my new partner."

Chiara held the curled-up form of Vibrava in her arms, its wings folded down and its tail curved towards its head. It looked at Robert curiously, and Robert smiled, happy with how excited his daughter was and how much she liked her new friend.

Robert knew from seeing that face of his daughter's, so full of happiness and cheer, that she could very well rank as high as the only Pokémon Master, Red.

* * *

_The Next Morning_

* * *

Chiara slipped on her normal clothes: tight colored shirt with a pokéball resting right above her left hip (today's color was black), skinny jeans, and her combat boots. She also clipped her new pokéball belt across her hips, and bent down to where Vibrava was calmly sleeping on the floor. She gently touched a finger it its slender body. "Hey, its almost time to go."

The Pokémon yawned, and then opened its eyes. It seemed to remember who she was, and then yawned again. "Brava..."

She smiled softly, and offered the Vibrava her left shoulder, which it seemed to like being perched on the previous day. It flapped its wings, and softly landed on her shoulder. She quickly packed enough compact clothes for a week, then hurried down to the kitchen with the medium-sized bag in her grasp. She put some food that would last a couple days, an instant stove and tent, an instant mattress, a tightly-wrapped blanket, and some cooking supplies. Over all, she had only filled about half of her bag and, thankfully, it was not as heavy as she had assumed. She would, however, have to get accustomed to the weight of it.

After finishing, Chiara looked up the stairs and all around the small house for her father, but found no sign of him. Shrugging, she walked out of the door while grabbing her bag, and then locked it with the key behind the removable doorbell. She replaced the key, and scribbled a small note and left it on the door as she walked away from her home.

Walking down her tiny street towards town, she looked at her sleepy partner. It also looked at her, then back to the approaching city. "What do you want to get first?" Chiara asked it.

Vibrava vibrated its wings slowly, as if in thought. "Vibrava brava."

She smiled softly at her partner's attempt to speak. "Okay, items it is."

As they walked closer to town, they saw more and more kids her age walking towards the town, too. One particular kid, though, stopped her abruptly by jumping right in front of her, sending a surprised Chiara sprawling over him and evidentially knocking him down, too. Vibrava flew up about a foot above the wreck and then landed on the concrete next to Chiara, while she and the guy groaned in pain.

After untangling herself from the guy, she shot back to her feet while he rubbed his head in pain. "What in the name of Groudon was that for?!" Chiara asked. Vibrava landed on her shoulder again, buzzing softly.

He rubbed his head. "I just wanted to say hi, but you decided to run into me instead. You're never going to make friends like that!"

Chiara blinked angrily. "And you're never going to make friends if you say hello like _that!_"

She stalked towards town, ignoring the boy staring after her and the couple of stares that followed her towards town.

Chiara reached the edge of her hometown, Fallabor, and walked into a Pokémart—set apart from the other buildings because of the bright blue roof.

Inside, she saw there were lots of other new trainers and old alike, looking at the shelves upon shelves of Pokémon goods. Not knowing where anything was and how important each item was for beginners, she started wandering, looking at the colorful goods stacked neatly in front of her eyes. All types of bottles of every shape and size—that could still fit in a trainer's bag, of course—and of colors that Chiara had not known could even exist.

Chiara, at random, picked up a medium-sized yellow bottle that had a spray pump. On the label, it said "Parlz Heal" in three languages. Figuring that it would not be all that useful, she put it back onto the shelf. She walked to the desk that she saw on the way in; a clerk was standing behind it, typing away on the image floating in the air.

"Excuse me, sir?" Chiara asked as sweetly as she could. The clerk closed the image and smiled at her warmly.

"Hi there! What can I do for you and your Pokémon today?" He asked cheerfully. To Chiara, it sounded fake, but she assumed that it was. After all, who got that peppy naturally in seconds?

"Do you have a map of Hoenn in stock?" She asked curiously.

"Would you like a guide that gives information on just about everything in Hoenn along with that?" He asked, taking out a tube that had a black line down the middle of it from under the counter. He placed it on the counter.

"Yes sir, that'd be extremely helpful!" She smiled warmly, and Vibrava vibrated its wings in tune with her happiness.

"Vi!" It said.

He placed a small, pocket-sized blue book with a pokéball on the cover next to the tube. "That will be $30, ¥3,121.50, or €22."

She took out thirty dollars and placed the money on the table, thanking the man happily and exiting the store, knowing she'd be back when she'd learned more. She found a quiet bench on the side of the road, and sat down on it. She gave the book to Vibrava, who started walking on it. Chiara looked at the tube, and took the safety latch out of the top of it. She then pulled the map of Hoenn open, and saw a little yellow dot right above an upper-most city, the city which she knew was where she had grown up most of her life—Fallabor City.

The rest of it was interesting—oceans, mountains, volcanoes, forests—all in 3D detail because of the holographic map. Chiara also found out that she could zoom in on a particular city and see the roads and other things, such as buildings, that the city held. Chiara closed the map and stuffed it into her bag, picking up the manual in the process. Vibrava jumped on her shoulder as she stood from the bench, and started walking in a random direction.

Using the table of contents section, Chiara skipped to the part where it said "essential equipment for starting your journey". Reading while walking at her normal pace was becoming difficult, so she slowed so she could read more clearly.

_All trainers should stop by the Pokémon center and/or Professor's lab of their town to pick up their starter Pokémon and their pokédex—which is a machine that is essential to a beginning trainer. This device is essential because it tells a trainer their Pokémon's moves, and lets them record which Pokémon they've seen. When the trainer sees or meets a new Pokémon, the pokédex also tells them the description of that Pokémon that it was programmed with and saves that data._

Chiara closed her book. Looking around the town she had grown up right outside of, she wondered if she could have possibly seen the Pokémon Center before. The book said that there was one in every town, and sometimes out in the wilderness, but did not specify further. Thinking back, Chiara remembered seeing a building with a giant pokéball symbol on the front of the building. Smiling happily, she realized that that building must have been the Pokémon Center. Vibrava yawned, and Chiara complied with its obvious wishes by putting it back into its pokéball.

Excited, Chiara ran back to the front of town and into the rather large building, the doors sliding closed behind her as she slowed her pace to look around. Pokémon trainers, young and old, were chatting on the telescreens on a far wall, chatting with each other on the no-so-sparse furniture, using devices to transfer their pokéballs to each other, and also talking to a pretty lady with pink hair at what seemed to be a front desk of sorts. Chiara deduced that the lady with the pink hair most likely had the pokédex, so she walked up to the line that had formed.

The girl in front of her in line glanced back at her, and smiled warmly. Chiara noticed that she had beautifully-flowing black hair the was parted to the side, and that side of hair was held out of her yellow eyes by a couple of red pins. Her hair also had subtle orange streaks running through random strands. She wore a short red skirt, white lace-up boots that cut off at her lower thigh, and a tanktop under a loose red zipper jacket. She had a bag slung over her shoulder.

Chiara smiled back, and the girl fully turned to look at Chiara. Chiara noted that the girl was the same height as her. "You a new trainer, too?"

"Yeah. Are you?" Chiara asked quizzically, wondering why the girl had even confronted her in the first place.

The line moved up a person. The girl smiled slightly at the question. "Well, not exactly _new_. However, I'm not a professional _quite_ yet. Not even close, to be honest." The girl glanced up and around the few trainers that were left in front of her. She looked back at Chiara. "So what's your name? Never did catch it."

"Chiara." She held out her hand, and the mysterious girl took it all too happily.

"That's a pretty name! Mine's Yolanda." She said, her face smiling. "So, if you're a beginning trainer, that means you don't have anyone to travel with, right?"

Chiara stopped for a second, realizing for the first time that she'd never even thought about traveling _with_ anybody. "Hadn't even thought about something like that, to be honest."

"Perfect! Do you want to travel with me and my Pokémon?" Yolanda asked, turning around at some complaints from other trainers behind her and Chiara to talk to the lady with the pink hair.

Chiara was too stunned for a moment. She didn't think that someone would ask her to travel with them so soon after meeting her—let alone the person that had reminded her that she might need traveling companions.

The pink-haired lady waved her over, so Chiara stepped forward.

"Hello, and welcome to the Fallabar Pokémon Center! My name is Nurse Joy, and this is my helper, Chansey." The Pokémon that Nurse Joy had pointed out was a medium-sized, plump pink Pokémon. It had six long things sticking out of its head—three on each side—that made the Chansey look like it had hair. It also had a little pouch on its belly that held an egg, and a nurse's hat on top of its head. Chiara turned back to Nurse Joy as she resumed speaking. "Here at the Pokémon Center, and any other that you might see in any other town, a trainer can come with their tired or injured Pokémon. My sisters and their Chansey, I can assure, will do everything in her power to help you. The Pokémons Centers also work as a hotel if your Pokémon is staying overnight and you have no place to stay, or if you just don't have a place to stay in general. We don't charge, either."

Chiara nodded, absorbing all of the information. Nurse Joy continued.

"So I'm assuming you're a new trainer, correct? Good. Would you like to take a look at our starter Pokémon?" She asked nicely, ready to turn around.

"No, thank you. I'd just like a pokédex, please."

"That's fine." Nurse Joy bent down and reached under her counter and brought out what looked like a small version of the holomap she had bought earlier. "Also, every trainer starting on their journey gets a free set of five pokéballs." Chansey put five pokéballs on the counter with a happy "Chansey".

Chiara took it and the pokéballs. She smiled gratefully, putting the map into her bag and the five miniballs onto her belt. "Thanks so much! Now I'm ready to begin my journey!"

Nurse Joy smiled as Chiara walked off waving, then turned to the next trainer in line. Chiara walked outside, thinking about what type of trainer would make up a good duo with her. That's when she saw Yolanda leaning against the wall of the Pokémon Center, looking like she'd been waiting for her.

Chiara walked over to the girl, whom had stood back up to her normal height again. "Hey, so you're a trainer, like me?"

"Yup! Want to see my Pokémon?" Yolanda had all ready taken out two of her six pokéballs. "Nevermind, I'll just show you. Besides, they haven't been out the entire time I've been here. Come on out, guys!"

Yolanda threw the pokéballs into the air. They opened, and two Pokémon beams snaked towards the ground. The first Pokémon that formed had a small, orange head and body with yellow fuzz on either side of its neck. It also had a three-pointed yellow feather sticking up from its head. It had thin, stubby legs and a beak.

The other Pokémon had a black canine body, with a deep orange belly and muzzle. Around its four ankles, it had silver bands and on its back, it also had two bands. Upon its head, there seemed to be a crude skull.

"This is my team, so far. Blaze and Burn, my Torchic and my Houndour." She pointed at the small orange Pokémon, and then the black canine Pokémon. Chiara scanned each with the pokédex, the pokédex giving some information for each.

Chiara smiled as the Pokémon looked curiously up at her as she put away the device. Torchic tilted its head to the side. "Well, I'll show you my single partner if you want."

Chiara took out her single pokéball that occupied a Pokémon. "Come out and meet some new Pokémon, Vibrava."

Chiara's only Pokémon came out flying. Yolanda looked up in wonder, then took out her pokédex. In Chiara's opinion, it read off unimportant information—but obviously Yolanda heard something important that Chiara had overlooked.

"So that's a Vibrava, huh? That's a seriously rare Pokémon to catch!"

Chiara blushed slightly at her enthusiasm, remembering that her mom had, after all, caught it for her. "He was a birthday present." Chiara said guiltily.

Yolanda seemed not to be phased. "Don't be ashamed! That just means that whomever caught that for you has really good taste and knows which Pokémon become strong and loyal later on in life."

Chiara smiled at Yolanda's optimism. Maybe she'd agree travel with a newbee trainer like her... "So about what you said earlier..."

"About how I offered to join you on your travels? That offer still stands—after all, it's nicer to travel with someone who knows their way around." She winked. Yolanda then held out her lightly-tanned hand. "So, what do you say?"

Chiara smiled—the biggest smile she had smiled in a long time. "Sure. Let's beat the region together." She ended her statement with a firm shake of hands with Yolanda.

* * *

**_Hey guys, new story idea! After rewatching some of the Pokémon movies, I had a sudden urge to write something in the Pokémon genre. This story is the spawn of that urge. I am combining modern day ideas with Pokémon, so please stick with me if you don't think that something in this story would actually be in the show/game/movie. Anyway, that's about it. Until next chapter, then!_**

**_Next Chapter's Preview: Yolanda and Chiara decide set off after a quick stop at the Pokémart. After the stop and some debate about what happens next, Yolanda insists that the duo should start their combined journey on Route 114, since there was some potentially strong Pokémon at Meteor Falls. They weren't too strong, however; the route also leads into Route 115, which leads to Rustboro City, where a gym resides. Chiara decides that this is a good idea, and they head off out of town._**

**_Thanks for reading! Reviews aren't required, but they are welcomed!_**

**_~PurpleLuna98_**


	2. The Ludicolo

_**Full Story Summary: A journey is the dream of most fourteen year old children in the Hoenn region. Chiara Tort, daughter of Robert and Fern Tort, has grown up around Pokémon her entire life thanks to the fact that both of her parents had previously been trainers. Yolanda, a mysterious girl who goes to great ends to hide her family, confronts Chiara in the beginning, asking to travel along with her. Herc, a brash and intelligent boy, joins the duo later as they're heading to a gym. The three resolve to help each other get to the Pokémon League, and then make sure one of them makes it to the top**__**—to the title of Hoenn Champion. After that, Chiara hopes to challenge the current Pok**__**émon Master, Red. What will become of these three teenagers on their way to chasing their ambitious dreams? And what happens when Chiara's supposed "destiny" comes into play along the way?**_  


_**Chapter Summary: Chiara and Yolanda meet Herc in the black market, and under some circumstances, agree to let him tag along with them. Trouble arises, however, when Chiara wakes up to find her newest member gone from her grasp...**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon! All I own are Chiara, Herc, and Yolanda!**_

_**Warnings: Suggestions of blood and gore**_

_**Song of the Chapter: Human by Christina Perri**_

* * *

Hoenn Region Destinies

Chapter Two: The Ludicolo

* * *

_October 23, 2023_

* * *

Yolanda was looking at her in disbelief. "You seriously brought a tent, a bed, and some sheets—but not a sleeping bag?! How the hell are you going to get close to your Pokémon if they're sleeping in their pokéballs or outside of the tent?"

Chiara and Yolanda had traveled outside of the city and into the outskirts. Yolanda had brought up the subject of where to sleep, and Chiara had told her it didn't matter. Yolanda had then, after finding out about the comforts Chiara had brought, started to lecture Chiara about the importance of sleeping "in the rough".

"My Pokémon is small enough to sleep in the tent, as are yours!" Chiara countered uneasily, seeing the expression making its way onto Yolanda's light-skinned face.

"Right now they are. What about when your Vibrava evolves into a Flygon, or my Torchic into a Blaziken? Face it, Chiara, you made a rookie mistake. It's fine, because I'm pretty sure I would've done the same had it not been for my older brother."

"Your older brother seems to know a lot. How much older is he than us?" Chiara asked, moodily standing up, giving in to the fact that she was ignorant.

"He's...older, definitely. You'll meet him eventually, trust me. Everyone always seems to meet him some way or another...how you're going to go down with him, on the other hand... Anyway, we should get to the market and buy you some real supplies." Yolanda also stood up, dusting her skirt off while doing so.

"Okay. I guess I'll have to get a loan, because I don't have all that much money anymore." _Not after that shopping spree of supplies earlier, _Chiara thought to herself.

Yolanda laughed, then pointed at the capsules Chiara was putting back into her bag. "There's your money! There is trading on the black market, you know!"

Chiara stopped in her tracks. Of course she had known there'd been a secret place where people traded things illegally, but if someone had told her a couple hours prior that'd she'd be _in_ that place, she would have slapped them across the face. That was exactly where she was, however, in a couple minutes with an overly-excited partner at her side.

"Hey, Landa, good to see you back in Fallabor! Want to buy a Pokémon?" A guy at one of the front stall-things asked, flashing a devious smile at her.

Yolanda made a "pfft", then rolled her eyes. "I told you, no Pokémon buying for me. I'm a trainer that likes to catch hers."

"You want to buy some exclusive pokéballs, then? Y'know I can get the best!" Another man yelled from the back of the long aisle of stalls. Other men and women all started offering Yolanda and her "great" deals on any thing that a trainer might ever foolishly want or need.

Chiara frowned, and leaned over to Yolanda before she could respond. "Could we please hurry with this? It's bad enough that I let you drag me in here."

"Fine." Yolanda walked towards the back, waving a lot of the people in the stalls off, and occasionally punching some of the people buying things on the shoulder playfully. Chiara looked around at the small, supposedly-abandoned area that the people here had taken residence in. Some stalls, she observed with surprise, seemed to serve the purpose of the owner's home, as well as where they sold things.

Yolanda stopped at a stall near the back, with a young man manning it. When Chiara and Yolanda stopped in front of his stall, he was crouching in the back and was rummaging through a box. He glanced back at the two girls, and held his head up a little higher when he set his eyes on Yolanda.

"Come to exact your revenge, or to live up to your promise?" He asked, rising when he found a rusty old pokéball. He smile faintly, then stepped out of the shadows of the top of his stall.

The man—more of a boy, now that Chiara could see him properly—had long blond hair with green tips and green eyes that had a hint of mischief in them, as if expecting Yolanda to do something to him. He was a couple inches taller than the two of them, and looked to only be about a year or so older than Yolanda.

"I'm here to help my traveling companion get some suitable equipment, though I could do some things to you if you want." Yolanda answered his question.

"Training companion, ey? So you decided to travel with a completely random chic, but not your best friend?" The boy asked, a bit downcast.

Yolanda crossed her arms furiously, then hastily looked away from the blond, puffing her cheeks out a little in fury. Chiara, seeing her new friend in peril, stepped up to the counter. She effectively got the stall owner's attention.

"Hi, I'm Chiara, and Yolanda insisted that we come here to pawn off some of my...useless stuff." Chiara still protested to the claim that a tent and a bed were completely useless out in the middle of Hoenn. "Do you have a sleeping bag in stock?"

"Depends on what you got to trade, 'lil missy." Chiara had the urge to puff out her cheeks at the boy as he leaned his left arm on the wooden counter. "Show me what you brought me."

Chiara took out her two "useless" capsules. "A tent and a bed capsule," she rummaged around in her bag, and then took out her stove capsule, "and also a stove. Will that do?"

"..." The boy was looking down at the capsules, when he suddenly let out a sigh. "No, I'm not going to take advantage of a newbie."

"Newb—" Chiara started indignantly, but was cut off by the plop of a sack onto the wooden counter, and then the retreating form of the boy—whose name Chiara had yet to know—towards the pile in the back of his shop. "What do you mean, "not take advantage of me"?"

He did not respond, so she looked to Yolanda for help. Her new friend shrugged, picking her nails one last time before leaning over the counter. "What are you doing?"

"Making a deal you cannot refuse!" The boy said gleefully, pulling out a round thing wrapped in a blanket. He walked back over to the counter, and unveiled the round object to be an egg, one that was mostly sky blue and had the occasional spot of light grey. "I wanted to hatch it myself, but I'd be more than happy to part with it on one condition."

Chiara looked at it in awe, trying to pinpoint the egg type in her mind. Sadly, she couldn't begin to guess—what with all the different types of Pokémon. "What Pokémon is it?" She asked, at the same time Yolanda asked "On what terms" suspiciously.

"I'll take the capsules—which will catch a pretty penny in Rustboro—and give Chiara here the egg and the sleeping bag." He said, happy that said trainer seemed to have taken an immediate liking to the egg on the countertop.

"The catch?" Yolanda pressed, knowing the boy all too well. Chiara tuned in at that point in the conversation.

"You let me join you two girls on your journey around the circuit. I'm assuming that's what your goal is, correct?"

"Ye—"

"No." Yolanda said flatly, cutting off Chiara's sentence. She frowned at her friend, but said friend continued. "I told you all ready that I'm not going to babysit a Pokémon-less trainer. Well, trainer with a seriously weak Pokémon that clings to me."

"That's where you're wrong! I've got three Pokémon now, and one I've leveled up to be quite strong. Give me a chance! If you decide to not want to continue with me, drop me off in Rustboro!"

"I don't—"

"Of course we can do that!" Chiara said, ignoring that sharp glare from the girl next to her. "You've got a deal, what's your face."

Chiara shook hands with boy. After taking the capsules from her, he smiled happily. "Give me five minutes to pack a bag and close shop. I'll be out soon!"

Chiara picked up the sleeping bag and stuffed it into her bag, then awkwardly picked the egg up. It was heavier than it looked, but somehow she managed to get it into a comfortable holding position. By that time, the boy had rejoined them.

"Ready to go?" Yolanda asked grumpily.

"Yup! Oh, by the way Chiara, my name's Herc. Just Herc." She smiled in response, and then turned to see that Yolanda had practically stalked away from the duo. They hastily caught up with her, Chiara nearly dropping the egg in the process.

* * *

It was a couple hours later, sitting around a campfire with Pokémon that Chiara had met only that day, that she learned how to name a Pokémon. The conversation had been brought up when Chiara asked Herc how heavy her new egg would get.

"Depends on the Pokémon," he responded, scratching the ears of the tiny electric feline in his lap, "I hatched Toro here, and he didn't get all that heavy until he was ready to hatch!"

"Toro? Is that the species?" Chiara asked, having never seen the Pokémon before in her life.

"Nah, he's a Shinx. They're real common in Sinnoh. Toro's his name."

"Like Blaze and Burn." Yolanda put in, having long gotten over having to deal with her longtime friend. The two Pokémon mentioned perked up at mention of their names. "You can nickname your Pokémon, though not everyone does. It creates a bond between trainer and Pokémon."

Chiara looked down at the Vibrava in her lap. Naming him didn't seem to be much of a dilemma, and it would only bring them that much closer together... "Opal." Chiara said, smiling when the Vibrava buzzed its wings upon hearing it.

"I think Opal likes that name," Herc said, then confusedly asked, "though isn't he a guy? That name is a bit girly."

Chiara pouted when Yolanda laughed. Herc shrugged when Chiara sent a glare his way, continuing to pet his Shinx. "Opal likes it, so who cares whether it's girly or not?" Chiara asked indignantly.

The two trainers looked at each other, and then burst out laughing, making Chiara even more furious.

"Come on, guys!" She said angrily. Yolanda shook her head, clearing her expression of her previous outburst except for a smile.

"Oh, chill it. We were just kidding...or at least I was." She said, glancing meaningfully over at the blond next to her whom was still trying to recover. Next to him, Toro seemed to think nothing was wrong and was silently grooming himself.

He righted himself and shed a metaphorical tear. "Ah, sorry Chiara. Yolanda and I were just remembering a starter Pokémon that her older brother named...it's almost the exact situation! He had a...Burmy, was it? Or a wurmple?"

"Wurmple. Glitter was its name at first, before I told him to change the name, so as to not offend his Pokémon. The name then became Silver." Yolanda said, looking up slightly at the stars.

Chiara smiled, again hearing about Yolanda's mysterious older brother. "Who's your brother?"

"Excuse me?" Yolanda asked, obviously caught off-guard by the question. Herc stayed silent, silently stroking Toro's static-y coat, even after Chiara looked at him to see if he knew anything.

"You said before that everyone somehow meets him, so I want to know who he is. He must be important or something to get that sort of bitterness." Chiara noted how Yolanda seemed to grow more furious as she figured out that Chiara was "on to her". To hide her fury, she took some stray strands of bangs that had fallen out of the clip and stuck them back into the clip.

"He's...important, you could say. Not so much in this region, per say...but he's more known over in Sinnoh." Yolanda stated once her temper had disappeared again. Chiara got to wondering why she was even angry in the first place, when Opal let out a huge yawn. This resulted in a collaborative yawn that included every Pokémon around the small fire that was out of his or her pokéball (Herc's Seadra couldn't be let out because of the lack of puddles).

Herc laughed. "The Pokémon speak for themselves, am I right? Why don't we get some shut-eye and reschedule this talk for a later date, hm?" Not waiting for a response, he took out his compact sleeping bag and started to unfurl it. "Besides, we've got to get moving early if we want to make a dent in the Route we have to travel to reach Rustboro."

Yolanda had all ready unfurled her sleeping bag earlier, so she just wiggled her body into it. Chiara, however, didn't think it was all that frigid outside, and decided to sleep on top of hers. Opal had curled up, wings flat against his back and tail wrapped around his body, so Chiara kind of just plopped down next to him, egg in between them for the optimum amount of warmth possible. She was careful not to squish the egg, and fell asleep after quite some time of listening to her friends' breathing and the ominous noises of the nighttime Pokémon.

* * *

_October 24, 2023_

* * *

Chiara woke to find a giant set of green diamonds in her face. Shaking her head to rid herself of her morning sleepiness, she sat up and sent her starter into her lap.

"Vi vi, vibrava!" Opal screeched, skirting around her and buzzing his wings. The way he was panicking woke Chiara right up.

"What's wrong, Opal? Are you hungry?" Chiara asked, all ready digging in her bag for some all-purpose Pokémon food.

"Vi vi!" Opal started freaking out even more, and then Chiara caught sight of the blue form of her egg slithering away.

"Oh my gosh, Opal, come on!" Chiara said, scrambling up to her feet and then after her egg. Her Vibrava followed after he loyally.

Just as the duo started after the egg, a Pokémon appeared from under it and instead of crawling like it had been, it started to run. Chiara picked up her pace, entering the underbrush of the forest just seconds after the Pokémon and her egg. She ran through the forest, not caring about the branches or the bushes scraping up her clothes and arms.

After a while of running, Chiara had to stop and take a rest. She sent Opal ahead with the command of chasing down the Pokémon, and placed her hands on her knees and started panting. When this was over, she had to start working out more just in case this happened again.

Opal came buzzing back, doing frantic zigzags. Upon seeing her starter pulling her hair in the direction he had come from. She followed willingly, going so far as to sprint frantically after her Pokémon. All the while, frantic thoughts of what her egg of was going through were going through her head at a million miles per second.

Finally, the duo came upon a clearing to find a bunch of Pokémon with little blue bodies and lilypads on their heads walking around, seeming perfectly content.

Then, Chiara spotted it. A giant, green and yellow Pokémon was holding her egg, looking it over in wonder. Chiara noticed it also had a lilypad on its head that was shaped somewhat like a giant, floppy hat.

"Hey!" The word was out of her mouth before she knew it. Every Pokémon in the clearing turned to her, clearly startled. Well, there was no going back after that had happened. "Give me back my egg, jerk! He or she is mine!"

The big Pokémon frowned, and suddenly, Opal and Chiara were being assaulted by the smaller, blue Pokémon.

They batted them away, Opal with his wings and some attack involving sand and Chiara with her hands. Opal fainted after an extremely powerful water attack, and Chiara's heart sank as she was forced to return her only Pokémon. Once Opal was in his pokéball, however, the little blue Pokémon stopped attacking and instead started pushing Chiara's legs towards the big pineapple-looking Pokémon.

She soon stood, terrified and angered, in front of the giant (but short to her) Pokémon. It looked up at her and handed back her egg. She took it shakily. It tilted his head, and said something like "colo".

"Uh, thanks? Listen, why give me back my egg when you saw me—after fainting my Pokémon, I might add—when one of your little blue friends stole it in the first place? It makes no sense." Chiara said, hugging her egg tighter to herself.

"Colo, ludi ludi." It said. It then pointed a green hand-like limb to a bunch of string hanging from a tree branch with a lump of string hanging out of it. Sticking out of the end of the lump was an upside down black head of a dog.

"Why did you tie up that Pokémon?!" Chiara asked, walking frantically toward the Pokémon. She started sticking her hands into the string, and it stuck to her hands. "Ew..."

The same green hand rested itself on her shoulder. The Pokémon held up its other hand, and made a somewhat-finger with its paw. It then pointed at the canine in the sticky threads and then at the egg in Chiara's arm.

"Wait, did this Pokémon steal my egg?"

Its face stretched into a crude smile. "Ludi!" It said happily.

"So you had your little blue friend _save_ my egg, and that's why you let Opal and me in here..."

"Ludi, ludicolo." It said while it took the top of the string and snapped it easily. The canine had barely any time to struggle before it was flying through the air towards the thick of the forest and away from both the clearing they were in and the one that Chiara's friends were sleeping in.

Chiara looked down at the Pokémon, the egg wrapped with her two arms. "Thank you so much. My egg would probably be chow right now had it not been for you."

The Pokémon did a gesture, as if he was tipping his lilypad or something, and then pushed her back to the edge of the clearing. It almost pushed her on her way, before she remembered she didn't exactly know where the clearing was.

"Wait, can you lead me back to my friends?" The Pokémon looked confused, but Chiara continued. "You see, I don't really know how I got here, so I don't have the slightest clue as to how to get back."

It waved one of its blue friends over, and seemed to explain the situation, then pointed at me. It ran up to Chiara's legs and smiled up at her. "Lotad!"

Chiara let the little blue Pokémon with a lilypad on its head lead her back to her camp. In no time flat, she was standing in the heart of camp, only to find that her friends' sleeping bags were vacant. She also found that the blue Pokémon had disappeared.

"Chiara?!" A voice from behind her screamed, and in seconds something tackled her to the ground. "Oh my Darkrai, where the hell have you been?!" Yolanda yelled loudly, crushing Chiara's ribs in a tight hug.

"Ack—why are you choking me?! I was gone for a couple minutes at the most!" Chiara said with difficultly. "Please stop slowly killing my ribs!"

"Chiara," Herc said seriously, having entered the clearing again shortly after Yolanda's outburst, "you've been gone for a good hour. Opal's pokéball was missing, so Yolanda assumed the worst. Where were you?"

"A Pokémon stole my egg, so Opal woke me up and we chased after it. A strange Pokémon with a weird hat on its head saved it and gave it back to me. Opal fainted, but it was all good in the end. A blue Pokémon with a lilypad on its head led me back here." Chiara explained to her friends.

"Wait, was that Pokémon that helped you...was it green and yellow, and did it dance a lot?" Herc asked while Yolanda seemed to be processing the information.

Chiara nodded. "Yeah, but it didn't dance nearly at all."

Both Herc and Yolanda's eyes widened comically. Chiara frowned.

"What?"

"Chiara, that was the rogue Ludicolo that has been killing on various Routes across the region for weeks. You're lucky to be alive and in one piece!"

* * *

_The king Ludicolo watched at the strange girl walked out of his clearing, the tiny and about-to-hatch egg safely back in her arms. He sat back on his throne, watching the place where she had just disappeared._

_One of his subordinates waddled up to him. "Was that the human that the psychics have warned of?"_

_"Yes, my friend..." The Ludicolo said, tapping its paw against the rock throne. "That was the human. And if that human fulfills her destiny, her friends and the rest of humanity shall perish. We must warn the Legendaries immediately—the prophesied year has come upon us all. No Pokémon or human is safe as long as that human fulfills the path that has been carved out of blood for her."_

* * *

**_A/N: Okay guys, this'll be the last chapter for a while. For all those not familiar with the time of year for band/orchestra students in Georgia, we have this thing here called LGPE, which is like the CRCT for us musical folk. I, being first flute in my section of the band, must practice my solo and the rest of the music for said event. I might post a random chapter here or there (since when is that new?), but it won't be frequent (again, when is that new?). Thanks for being so loyal!_**

**_Next Chapter Preview: Herc, Yolanda, and Chiara have some interesting experiences on the way to Rustboro, including a catching, a fainting, a hatching, and an evolving. Yeesh, what could possibly be worse?_**

**_~PurpleLuna98_**


End file.
